Lot 311
An Anglo-Japanese mahogany writing cabinet, by Gillows
Auction: 30 April 2003 at 12:00 BST
Description
An Anglo-Japanese mahogany writing cabinet, by Gillows,
the superstructure with moulded top having pierced silvered gallery above central door, with pierced silvered hinges and decorative drop handle, the central lacquer and ivory panel, inlaid with the figure of a warrior in the manner of Shibayama and enclosed by reeded fielded panelling and two glazed doors, enclosing a shelf and with bevelled glazing to the sides, the three small drawers below, above a slide-out writing surface inlaid with tooled leather above a single drawer, also inlaid in the Shibayama style with a panel of flowering branches, the drawer stamped "Gillow & Co 1668" and bearing maker's label, the whole raised on square reeded legs linked by stretchers and with bracket supports
73.5cm wide, 131 cm high, 43.5cm deep
Footnote
Design no. 1668 is not located in the Gillows MSS but adjacent numbers in the series date from 1872-74. Dating the cabinet is complicated however, by the label pinned inside the drawer describing the company as cabinet makers to King Edward. Perhaps it was either re-sold by Gillows, at which time they applied their current label, or was a successful design which they continued to make.
Whilst the cabinet is very much in the Japanese taste pioneered and popularised by E.W. Godwin, it can only be tentatively attributed to him.
Certainly, Godwin's designs for Collinson & Lock incorporated genuine Japanese elements, as in this example. Additionally, his celebrated Lucretia cabinet, also made by Collinson & Lock displays similar details, although on a larger scale. An alternative author for this piece could be Godwin's assistant George Freer Rope, who also went on to design for Gillows, often in a manner almost indistinguishable from his master.
Susan Soros The Secular Furniture of EW Godwin Yale University Press 1999
Susan Soros ed. EW Godwin; Aesthetic Movement Architect and Designer Yale University Press 1999